Container for packing needles



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CONTAINER FOR PACKING NEEDLES Filed June 28, 1967 FIG.I. I \e 'FIGB. 1c

. INVENTOR neRAer BY vilrrou an) ran-o0 ATTORNEYS United States Patent 8 Int. (:1. B65d 85/24, 85/54; A45c 11/26 US. Cl. 20666 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE up the longitudinal play between said closed end and the needle heads.

Background of the invention Needles are frequently packed in boxes or containers of a type normally used for packing safety matches but in regard to needles, the size and length of which may vary considerably, the problem of putting them into a box of a given volume, and in which they cannot move about, has not yet been satisfactorily solved. This problem is solved by providing a container constituted of two substantially identical hollow parts or sections, each having a closed end and an open end, and which fit into one another at their open ends. one of the hollow parts being provided with small boxes arranged snugly in stacked relation and having soft sockets directed lengthwise, the other hollow part being cushioned at its closed end for taking up the longitudinal play between said closed end and the needle heads.

Summary It is a purpose or object of the invention to place at the disposal of needle manufacturers, a box or container in whichneedles, and particularly sewing machine needles, can be arranged in sets without the risk of bending, damaging the points or bringing them into contact when handling or transporting.

A container for packing needles, and particularly sewing machine needles, made up of two hollow parts fitting into each other, and of small fiat boxes made of a relatively soft material placed one above the other or side-byside so as to form a pile and pushed snugly into one of these hollow parts, the small fiat boxes being provided with sockets directed lengthwise, together with a cushion at the closed end of the other hollow part of the box for taking up the longitudinal play between said bottom and the needle heads. Both hollow parts of the said box should be identical and fit into one another.

Various further and more specific purposes, features and advantages will clearly appear from the attached description given below taken in connection with the accompanying drawing which forms part of this specification and illustrates merely by way of example one embodiment of the device of the invention.

Brief description of the drawing In the following description and in the claims, parts will be identified by specific names for convenience, but such names are intended to be as generic in their application to similar parts as the art will permit. Like reference characters denote like parts in the several figures of the drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a blown-up perspective view of a container 3,469,587 Patented Sept. 30, 1969 of the type described above used for packing needles, shown as if the parts were lying on a table;

FIG. 2 is a front view of the container containing a few needles;

FIG. 3 is a view of said container at an angle of to that shown in FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the closed container inside of which there is a set of small fiat boxes, but containing no needles.

Description of the preferred embodiment Referring more particularly to the drawing which discloses by way of example an embodiment of the invention, there is shown in FIG. 1 a container used for packing sewing machine needles, comprising two hollow substantially identical or mating parts or sections 1 and 1a, respectively, each in substantially the shape or form of a parallelepiped and open on one side or end and closed on the opposite side or end as indicated respectively by the reference characters 1b, 1c and 1d, 1e. Portions 2 have been cut out along the edges of the two parts or sections 1 and 111 at their open ends symmetrical in respect to the longitudinal axis of the container so that the cut out portions of a section fit into corresponding portions of the other section so as to form a complete box or container. Sections 1 and 1a are preferably made of a transparent, not easily breakable plastic material by injection, compression, or other suitable molding process.

It is preferable to arrange or stack ten small flat boxes 3 to form a block which can be pushed into one of the sections or elements 1, 1a for instance into section 1a without any transverse play, so that these small fiat boxes are kept in a position which can be said to be fixed.

Each small flat box 3 preferably contains ten sockets, grooves or recesses 4, parallel to each other, shaped into parallelepipeds, regularly spaced, open on one end 4a and closed on the other end 4b and includes a bridge 5 preferably cast in one piece with flat box 3. These small flat boxes are preferably made of relatively soft or flexible material such as an elastomer and preferably of polyethylene. They can also be made by injecting a plastic material into a mold. FIGS. 2 and 3 show a few sewing machine needles 6 placed in their respective sockets 4. Needles 6 project within sockets 4 and are kept upright by bridge 5 formed in the small flat box 3 and by cushion 7 made of soft elastic material, for example a foam plastic material, said cushion being placed between the needle heads and the closed end 10 of section 1. The points of the needles are protected by the material of which the bottom of each socket 4 is made.

Both sections or elements 1 and 1a fit into one another so as to form a closed container as seen in FIG. 4, the small flat boxes 3 contained therein being placed in section or element 1a. A container of the character described makes it possible to handle and transport needles in such a way that they are efficiently protected against shocks. Needles are prevented from coming into contact with one another. They cannot move in the container because they are practically sheathed in a rather soft material, keeping them in a fixed position. Any difference in their length is taken up by cushion 7 preferably made of foam plastic material and it can easily be understood that cushions of a variable thickness may be used according to the length of the needles to be packed so that needles of different lengths may be packed in the same type of box.

By making the container of transparent material or with transparent windows the contents of a container can be easily checked in the manufacturers factory, as well as in the users shop. It is no less easy to slip into a container of this type a label bearing the required references.

Small, flat boxes containing 10 needles are advantageously distributed in shops and stores. Furthermore, it

is easy to know how many needles are left in a box from which needles have been taken away for use.

The risk of needles getting lost when used with sewing machines is considerably reduced because they are kept in their small fiat boxes.

-It is understood that the invention is not restricted to the use described above, which is only given as an example.

From the foregoing, it can be readily seen that as an example in carrying out the invention, there is provided a container utilizable for packing needles, particularly sewing machine needles made up of two hollow mating elements or sections 1 and 1a fitting into each other and of small flat boxes 3 made of rather soft flexible material, placed one next to the other FIGS. 2, 3, 4 so as to form a contiguous arrangement and positioned without any transverse play into one of the hollow sections, each of the boxes 3 being provided with sockets or recesses 4 directed lengthwise, the container including a cushion 7 made of relatively soft elastic material placed at the closed side or end 1c of the other section of the container to take up the longitudinal play between the closed end 10 and the heads of needles 6. Needles 6 are placed in sockets 4 with their points being directed towards the closed end 1e of the container section containing boxes 3 provided with the sockets 4. The grooves or sockets 4 are open at a side or end of each box 3, provided with the sockets, closed at the opposite side or end and are connected by a transverse bridge 5. The closed ends of the sockets of each box 3 form a continuous closure, the boxes being arranged within section 1a in contiguous relation with their continuous closures in the same plane against the closed end of section 1a. FIG. 1 shows an expanded view of the container on one of its sides, whereas the other views (FIGS. 2, 3, 4) show the container in an upright displayable position. It is seen that respectively the flat side of one box 3 bears or abuts against the ribs of the sockets of an adjacent box 3 thus providing a sort of closure for the latter box. The elastic cushion fills the space left between the closed end 10 of the other section of the container and the needle heads. The two sections 1 and 1a of the container when made identical with portions of one section fitting into corresponding portions of the other section, provide a very eflicient, practical and safe outer container.

What is claimed is:

1. A container for packing needles comprising two substantially similar hollow mating sections, each of said sections having a closed end and an open end, the open ends being adjacent each other forming a continuous space within the container; a plurality of identical fiat boxes of such size as to fit entirely within one of said sections, each of said boxes having a plurality of parallel grooves constituting sockets, each of said sockets having a closed end and an open end and being continuous throughout its length, the closed ends of said sockets forming a continuous closure, each of said boxes having a flat side and said sockets in each of the boxes being formed by spaced parallel ribs projecting from said flat side, said boxes being arranged within said one of said sections in contiguous relation with their said continuous end closures in the same plane against said closed end of said one of said sections and said boxes being disposed in such a manner that the flat side of one of said boxes abuts against the ribs of an adjacent box forming a side wall closure for retaining needles in adjacent sockets along the entire length thereof, each of said sockets being adapted to receive through its open end a portion of one of said needles with the tip of said needle portion resting on the said closed end of said socket, and cushioning means in the other of said sections of said container adjacent the closed end thereof adapted for engagement with the ends of the remaining portions of said needles when said needles are inserted in said sockets and said sections of said container are in mating position.

2. A container for packing needles according to claim 1, wherein said boxes are made of flexible material.

3. A container for packing needles according to claim 1, wherein said cushioning means comprise soft elastic material for maintaining the needles in fixed position.

4. A container according to claim 1, and a transverse bridge connecting said ribs.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,695,112 11/ 1954 Bonnevay. 2,764,308 9/1956 Hoch. 3,004,660 10/1961 Hofmann 20666 3,227,265 1/ 1966 Schneider 20617 WILLIAM T. DIXSON, JR., Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 206l7; 220-17 

